Chances
by strawberry shortcake 022
Summary: Short summary Zac and his best friend are on vacation, they make some new friends and have some new feelings .. full summary inside! pleaseee R & R! Let me know you're reading and I'll keep writing!
1. Chapter 1

Soo this is a little story about the wonderful Mr. Zac Efron, who is on a two week get-away from his busy life. Burdened by girl and work, he needs a little R & R with his best friend, but soon finds himself caught up with a troublesome redhead and her cousin. It starts a little bit slower than most because I want it to be more of a story than just a fan fic.

Chapter One

Life sucked. It wasn't supposed to be like this. He was young, good looking, hardworking, rich, and well, maybe a little bit conceited. But, given everything, it was hard not to be. At the young age of nineteen, when most kids his age were juggling part-time jobs with class as they tried to figure out what they wanted to do with their lives, he knew.

But did he really know? Was he doing what he _really _wanted to do?

He shook his head, trying to get rid of those thoughts. Of course he was. How could he not? He got to travel, meet people, and get paid to pursue his passion. How could anyone have complaints with that?

He focused his eyes in front of him as heard high-pitched shrieking coming from beside him. God, what he would give to be able to do something- anything- alone. He couldn't even remember what life had been like before. It was so long ago. He sure as hell wouldn't be driving a 2007 Ford Mustang, though.

His cell phone began to vibrate across the dashboard. Vanessa. He quickly hit the ignore button. Between the traffic and the fans eying his stalled car, he already had a headache, and he would have been just as well off slamming his head on the pavement as answering the phone.

Vanessa. How could something so good be so bad? She was amazing- beautiful, talented, and the biggest sweetheart ever. But it was just too much. Too many questions, too many comments. After being apart for nearly two months, they had just spent the past week together in Hawaii. Yeah, it was great to spend so much time alone with her, and, for a change, they were actually alone, but something was different. Everything that he felt before was, well, gone. The beating of his heart when she looked at him with her huge brown eyes didn't affect him the way it used to, and he had no idea what it meant. At least he had another two weeks to figure everything out. He had- somehow- two weeks with no plans. That also meant two weeks before he had to see Vanessa. Two weeks to figure everything out.

Melissa zippered up her suitcase. On one hand, it was Friday, and she was done with work for the summer, but, on the other hand, she would be spending the next month with her family in Key West. She shuddered. Two weeks of getting stuck babysitting her younger half brothers while her mom and step-dad gallivanted from bar to bar reliving their twenties. She turned to find her black bikini sitting on her bed. Dammit. Sighing, she unzipped her suitcase to shove it in.

It's not like she was going to be missing a whole lot at home, though. After her freshman year of college, it seemed as if all her friends were beginning to go their separate ways. Rachel was busy with work and summer classes, and Jen was with her boyfriend every second she wasn't working. Even her best friend since second grade, Cara, was too caught up in her own world to see her more than once a week.

Justin, the younger of the two boys, yelled from downstairs.

These were going to be a long two weeks. She was going to need a lot of luck, sun, or alcohol to get through it.

-------------

Zac tapped his fingers on the handrail. It didn't matter how many hundreds of times he'd been on one that he still hated them. Taking off just sucked. His ears popped, his stomach turned. There was just nothing fun about it. Nothing fun except getting there. Maybe this was exactly what he needed. Just him and Ryan, his best friend from birth, hundreds of miles away from everything that meant something to him. Well, of course a couple of bodyguards, too, but that was to be expected. Two weeks of sand, sun, and surf. What could be better?

He grimaced as his left ear popped. He couldn't wait to be lying on the private beach, catch a few waves, and have a few drinks. The past few months had been tougher than he realized. He never imagined how much stress was involved with his profession. He was always on the move, running from city to city. He sighed, louder than he had intended to, causing Ryan to look up.

"Man, what's wrong? We're going to Florida, cheer up! Bikinis man!"

Zac shook his head. Typical Ryan. "I know, I know. I just wanna get off this plane."

Ryan looked at his watch. "Five hours and we'll be on that beach."

Melissa opened the door to the house she would be sharing with her family. Although the point of vacationing in Key West was to visit their grandma, the family chose to stay a good ten minute's walk away closer to the heart of the town. The humidity had already sent her hair into shambles, her wavy red hair scrunching into loose curls. She sighed as she caught a glimpse in the mirror inside the entrance. Yuck.

Kids were definitely not her forte. Rob talked the entire trip and Kyle was just outright annoying, tapping and jumping in and out of his seat. Melissa imagined how the rest of the time was going to go. It wasn't that she didn't love her family. She just wasn't used to spending a lot of time with them. Being away at college for months at a time definitely had its advantages. It was a vacation in itself. Sure, there was schoolwork, but the whole social aspect of school was much better than at home. Berkeley meant no high school drama, amazing shops, perfect coffee, and a future.

She looked outside, where the sun was setting over the ocean. How romantic. Blech. All it meant was that it was another day that she would have to wait to go in the ocean.

Melissa opened a door on the left that led to her bedroom. "God, have you ever seen so much pink?" She considered throwing up. It was a bit much. Light pink walls, bright pink curtains and bed spread. Blech. Once the long draped curtains were parted though, a balcony viewing the gorgeous beach was right off of their room. What more could she ask for?

Zac lay down in his bed. This place was, well, perfect. His house was what he would consider heaven. The house was right on the beach and had both a pool and hottub. But what it really meant to him was that he wasn't going to be bothered. He didn't have to go anywhere for the next two weeks. Everything he needed was right in front of him- with no one- besides Ryan- interfering with it. Unless he traveled far on the beach, the trip was going to be media free, which was amazing. And, unlike his last trip, he was here with his best friend, who would make the trip much more fun. Ryan was quite a character. Outgoing, very personable, and, yes, he could admit it, good looking, he and Ryan made the perfect womanizing team. It had been quite some time since they were both on the market, but it looked like they would have to wait just a little bit longer.

Zac shut his eyes, hoping that he could fall asleep easily. He wished all thoughts of Vanessa away. He just wanted to fall asleep quickly so he could wake up and spend the day on the beach.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"Man, she is hot!" Ryan leaned up onto his elbows to get a better view.

"You're telling me. I just don't know. It just didn't feel the same. When I first met her, everything felt so right. I mean, I was only like sixteen, but still, it felt awesome. She's so-"

"Dude, what the hell? I was talking about her." He pointed to a girl about fifty yards in front of them. She was alone, dragging a bright blue surfboard across the sand.

Zac sat up to see what he was looking at. So much for their private beach. Ryan had insisted that they go someplace with a few other people in hopes of finding a female companion. "Well, brownie points for her because she surfs."

The two boys watched in admiration as she paddled out and gracefully caught a

wave. "Either she's a natural or she's done it before."

"Well," Ryan said, "the t-shirt she was wearing said University of California, so I'm guessing she's done it before."

"What are you, some kind of stalker?"

"No, beauty just catches my eye."

Zac laughed at his friend. "Can't we have a girl-free vacation?"

"I think not, my friend. You are the lucky one. You have a beautiful one waiting for you at home. Myself, on the other hand, has nothing, so I might as well have a good vacation. I think I'm gonna go out and talk to her."

"Good luck." Zac rolled onto his stomach and watched his friend approach the red head. She was hot. What the hell was he to do? Thinking about her was such a headache. The way he saw it, he had two options. He could grin and bear it. Well, it wasn't as bad as it sounded. Vanessa wasn't a hard girl to be with. Or he could dump her and move on. It's not like he saw her a lot, anyway. And the media was getting to be a bit much. Everywhere they went, cameras were there. What was supposed to be a nice vacation away from everything and everything turned out to be a media frenzy. It would probably be like that with anyone, though. He looked around at the beach. Minus a few families, it was empty. It was pretty private here. And the surfer was pretty cute, as was the girl that was with her. Maybe he could have a fun two weeks, and maybe they didn't have to be girl free.

Melissa smiled to herself as a cute boy paddled out next to her. Her smile broadened as she saw a nice swell coming towards her. Turning against the wave, she paddled and popped up once the wave caught her board. Once the ride died down, she jumped in and paddled back to her starting position, where Ryan was sitting on top of his board.

"Well, not quite like the Pacific, are they? At least they're warm."

"What?" Melissa replied. "How did you-"

"Oh, it's pretty obvious that you a West Coaster." He held out his hand as she paddled closer. "Ryan."

"Hi, I'm Melissa. And, yeah, you're right. I'm from California."

"See? Although you would never really know it from looking at you."

She looked at her pale skin. "Work has kicked my ass lately. I haven't been able to spend too much time outside."

"Is this your first day here?" he asked.

"I just got in last night."

"Yeah, us too."

"Us?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm here with my friend Zac." He motioned over the beach. "I dunno why he didn't come out. I guess he didn't want to get shown up by a girl."

She laughed. "I'm sure stranger things have happened."

"So, who are you here with?"

Melissa rolled her eyes. "My family. Mom, step-dad, and my brothers. We're visiting my grandma. Well, kinda."

"Bummer. Looks like I got off easy."

She shrugged. "I thought I was going to be the full time babysitter, but I've already managed to sneak off. So how long are you here for?"

"Two weeks." He scanned the ocean, staring at the nonexistent waves over the horizon. "We got in last night too."

"Yeah, me too" she said. "Where are you staying?"

"The brown house on the beach."

"Damn, that's an amazing place. How did you land that?"

He smirked. "Eh, I've got a few connections. So besides the beach, what's there to do around here?"

"Um, I really have no idea. It's my first time here."

"You're, what, twenty, twenty-one?"

"Nineteen. Well, almost twenty. But nothing really matters 'til we hit twenty-one, right?"

"Partier?"

"Well, I am in college. And I do like a good time." She paused. "Yeah, I guess you could call me that."

"I'm sure there's a club somewhere that we could get into. I'm sure my friend and I could show ya a good time."

"Oh really?" she said, smiling. "Would that be an invite?"

"Well, since I don't see any waves here worth catching, I think it would be. Why don't we head in so you can meet my friend? Then maybe we can go hang out in our pool? Or hottub?"

Melissa agreed as the two of them stepped on to the white sanded beach. She dropped her board and grabbed her towel, following Ryan to his friend.

Damn, she had already hit the jackpot. Ryan was quite good looking. With his short, choppy brown hair, deep brown eyes, and tanned skin, he was the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome. Zac, on the other hand, was a few inches shorter and equally as tan, but with shaggy brown hair and bright blue eyes. She almost had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. She was used to being in the presence of good looking guys, for she was quite pretty and was more of a guy's girl than anything else, but she wasn't planning on stumbling upon two gorgeous guys on her first day of vacation.

"Melissa, Zac, Zac, Melissa."

Damn, why hadn't he gone out surfing and found her before Ryan did? Although petite, she was athletically built with fair skin and cheery blue-green eyes. The long red hair that Ryan had pointed out earlier was pulled back into a messy bun. She smiled to him and he thought to himself, _Vanessa, Vanessa, Vanessa._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Ryan, Zac, and Melissa pushed three chairs closer to each other and faced the sun. Although it was late afternoon, the Florida sun was still scorching.

"Now this," Melissa said, "is my heaven."

"Where in California do you live?" Zac asked her.

"I live in Oakland."

"That's cool. I'm from out there, too. Southern California, though. I wish I got to spend more time there."

"Oh, really? What, do you go to school some place else?"

"No, it's not quite like that." He paused. She really had no idea, did she? "I'm taking some time off before I go away to school. But, you know, I'm just so busy, like, working and all. I don't really get to enjoy California."

Ryan looked at him.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Melissa said. "I used to have so much fun, well, I guess I still do, but it's different being in school. It's still a lot of fun though."

Ryan excused himself to go to the bathroom. What the hell was Zac doing?

"So," Zac started. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

Her smile disappeared. "Nah, I'm kinda just getting out of something. I was tied down for too long, ya know? I tried to keep a high school relationship going through college, and once I got home, I realized that I had just wasted a year." Her smiled returned, but half heartedly. "I'm just glad I learned some things in my first year, though. It would have sucked to have wasted even more time. And I'm sure that you would have a girlfriend?"

He paused before answering. "I guess. Maybe. Kinda. Yeah."

She looked at him quizzically. "Are you sure?"

He sighed. "Yeah, I have one. We've been together over two years." He paused again. "So, well, everything you said, well, it just hits way too close to home."

"Two years. That's pretty intense."

"Yeah, I know. Actually, I don't. Things are kinda, I dunno, weird. We barely have any time for each other. She doesn't exactly live nearby, and we're both so busy with everything. What you said makes a lot of sense."

"It's not quite as easy as it sounds, but yeah, I guess. Being away from home a year really made me grow up."

"Yeah, I know what you mean."

They sat in silence, each pondering over their thoughts. It had been a long time since he was able to talk this freely with anyone. Well, anyone besides Ryan, or Vanessa and their other cast mates. But this was a feeling that he wasn't used to. Where ever he went, he was always recognized. He couldn't have a friendship with just anyone now. He had a few friends that stuck with him since before he was famous, and then whatever co-workers he became friends with. He knew that he wouldn't be able to keep his secret from her forever, though, but he was sure going to enjoy it while it lasted.

Ryan got out of his chair. "I gotta get a drink. You guys want anything? Beer? Margarita?"

Zac laughed at his friend. 'We have two weeks ahead of us for that."

"There's no time like the present, man."

He went inside and came back with three beers. "Damn," Zac said. "I can't remember the last time I had one of these."

Melissa smirked. This was a college staple. "So how did you guys manage to get this place? It's amazing. And the alcohol?"

Ryan started to open his mouth, but Zac jumped in. "Oh, you know, we know people. Connections."

"Must be nice." She finished off her beer in the silence. "Alright, guys, I should get going. I gotta do dinner with the family."

Zac stood up as she gathered her things. "Here, um, take my number. Maybe you can stop by when you're done? We can hang out here again, or play pool or something?"

Melissa entered his number into her phone. "Definitely. I'm sure I'll be done by like, seven. Unless my parents go out and I gotta babysit, which would suck. But whatever. If not, we have, like, two weeks."

"Oh yeah, sure. Um, have fun."

Melissa went upstairs to shower and get ready for dinner. She really hoped she didn't get stuck babysitting tonight. She really had a good time this afternoon and was looking forward to spending more time with the two boys. They seemed like such cool guys- even if it were to be just as friends. As anything else, well, who could choose which one? Ryan looked like every girl's dream, but he acted just like every other guy. Zac, though, seemed to be a little bit more creative and witty. He seemed so sweet, but something also seemed to be missing. She couldn't quite pinpoint it, but he wasn't quite there. He was probably thinking about his girlfriend. What a shitty spot to be in. Melissa was still fresh off of a messy breakup, but she remembered the months leading up to it. Her second semester of college had been filled of long fights with Brett. Once she got home from school, she realized that she just couldn't take it anymore and broke up with him. As much as it had hurt her to break up with him, she was almost at the point where she could look back at it and be grateful that it was over.

Melissa scrunched her hair and put on a little bit of mascara. She couldn't believe how sunburned she had gotten. Although a natural redhead, she tanned easily. Her almost year-round tan had faded, though, thanks to the many hours spent inside waitressing. Some summer. She put on a pair of white Bermuda shorts and a green halter. _Let the fun begin_, she thought, rolling her eyes

_It would have sucked to have wasted even more time._ Melissa's thoughts played over and over again in Zac's head. He couldn't figure out if it was what she said that he couldn't get out of his mind, or if it was her. Almost the opposite of Vanessa, Melissa had so much appeal to him. Maybe it was because she knew what he was going through. Or maybe it was because she was seeing her as a regular person- nothing more, nothing less.

He hoped that she would be spending a lot of time with them, he decided. Tonight could be fun- just a few of them hanging out together, having a few drinks as they got to know each other. A lot could happen in the next two weeks.

"Hey, Zac?" Ryan broke his thoughts. "When are you planning on telling Melissa exactly who you are?"


End file.
